Booster amplifiers are bi-directional amplifiers used for increasing the sensitivity and power output of cell phones and other devices that are communicating through them. The use of a booster amplifier, however, may disrupt cellular systems of both the network through which the device is communicating and other cellular networks that the device is not communicating through.
The potentially adverse effects of a booster amplifier can result in situations where other devices are dropped or disconnected or in situations that interfere with the operation of base stations in a wireless network. A booster amplifier, for example, can increase the noise floor, which decreases the sensitivity of a base station. Increasing the noise floor often decreases the coverage area of a base station and impairs cellular service.
For example, an amplifier generates amplified thermal noise even when no input signal is present or when the amplifier is idle. In high gain RF (Radio Frequency) amplifiers such as those used in signal boosters for cellular devices (cell phones, PDAs, etc.), such amplified noise can be especially problematic. Amplified thermal noise can increase the noise floor of base stations and in so doing it can mask weaker signals thereby precluding the base stations from communicating with base stations (and with other subscribers or devices communicating through base stations).
There is therefore a need for amplifiers that can enable devices to communicate in an RF network while reducing or minimizing the impact of the amplifiers on the network itself.